“Taunton State Lunatic Hospital” opened in 1854 as the first Massachusetts facility built in the Kirkbride Plan, a design developed by psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride that became typical to 19th-century asylums. The ornamental Victorian architecture, estate-like, multi-winged layouts, and green campus grounds were supposed to have a curative effect on patients; but they didn’t do much for Taunton’s most famous resident, Jane Toppan, a female serial killer. Nicknamed “Jolly Jane” because she seemed so gosh-darn friendly, Toppan eventually confessed to killing 31 people. As a nurse, first at Cambridge Hospital and then Mass General, Toppan would poison patients with lethal morphine mixtures. Even creepier, she’d climb in bed with victims and embrace them as they died because, Toppan admitted after her arrest, she got sexually aroused by their death throes. Toppan was caught after offing an entire Cape Cod family in the summer of 1901, and spent the rest of her life (she died at 81) at the Taunton hospital — where she lived in paranoia that the staff was poisoning her. Local lore has it that Toppan is one of many entities haunting the hospital, which saw most of its buildings closed in 1975 and demolished in 2009. (One area still holds 170 patients.) Fanning the lusty flames of paranormal fans is the fact that Taunton is centered in The Bridgewater Triangle, a swath of southeastern Massachusetts that is a hotspot for reports of (ready?), UFO sightings, Bigfoot sightings, phantom hitchhiker sightings, satanic cult activity, livestock mutilations, and Native American curses. Jeez. Makes a simple murderess sound quaint.

Review: The Haunting in Connecticut It's no shocker that The Haunting in Connecticut — a film inspired by the "true tale" of a family who stir up a nest of spooks when they move into a former mortuary — offers many a groan-worthy moment.

Review: The House of the Devil Have you walked near a college campus lately? You might notice that the ’80s are creeping into fashion, the way the ’70s did a few years back, and with the same lack of irony. It’s happening in cinemas, too — something that’s not entirely unwelcome when it comes to the horror genre.

Searching for Stephen King In 1983, Doubleday published yet another book from the increasingly renowned Stephen King, whose Carrie and The Shining (to name just two) were already popular books and movies.

RESIDE: AT HOME WITH BERTIL JEAN-CHRONBERG | March 13, 2013 Green home design is still building momentum, but it's not a new concept. Consider the Harvard Square home that Bertil Jean-Chronberg, GM and beverage director of South End hotspot the Beehive, shares with his wife, Tracy.

THE EDMMYS | February 26, 2013 We just wrapped award-show season — so to prevent withdrawal, we asked some top DJs, representing diverse sounds, to nominate favorites within some creative categories.

RESIDE: AT HOME WITH MICHAEL NAVARRETE | February 22, 2013 In food and fashion, presentation is key. So chef Michael Navarrete of the Regal Beagle and his girlfriend, stylist Laura Pritchard, are the perfect pair to decorate this airy East Boston loft.